Sunday, October 16, 1 p.m., Orcas Center
— from Susannah Weaver —
The Met opens the season with Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner streaming Live in HD at Orcas Center Sunday, October 16 at 1:00 pm. If you’ve not yet experienced the Metropolitan Opera streamed from New York City to Orcas Center this is your opportunity to experience an epic production where love is a battlefield and star-crossed lovers perform with sensitive musicality and dramatic grit.
This new production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in his first Met performances since his 2010 debut. Swedish soprano Nina Stemme leads the cast in her signature role, Isolde, which she has sung to acclaim with major international opera companies around the world. Her Tristan is Australian heldentenor Stuart Skelton, who sang Siegmund in the Met’s Ring cycle in 2013. The cast also includes Ekaterina Gubanova as Brangäne and Evgeny Nikitin as Kurwenal, with René Pape reprising King Marke. Join us before the Met for a very special reception at 12:00 pm honoring our very own Artha Kass, Champion of the Arts for Orcas Center, to celebrate her retirement and the opening of the Met 2016-2017 Season.
“Nina Stemme’s voice is a force of nature.” —The Guardian
“A production that finds the company operating at the top of its form…. Stemme’s superb Isolde is no surprise… shattering… Skelton flaunted vocal power and stamina ideal for the marathon role of Tristan.” —New York Observer
“Audacious new production. A strong cast, especially the astonishing soprano Stemme as Isolde… Stuart Skelton sings with musical integrity and feeling….”—New York Times
“Simon Rattle conducts with a compelling fusion of piety, pity and passion. Stemme invests Isolde with luminous tone, tireless energy and infectious sympathy.”—Financial Times
“Stemme is arguably today’s leading Heldensoprano: a Wagnerian for the 21st century… Skelton had moments of real vocal beauty, with a melting quality to the singing. … Rattle was a luxurious presence in the pit.” —Washington Post
Tickets for the Met’s Tristan und Isolde are $20, $15 for students, $2 off for Orcas Center members, and may be purchased at www.orcascenter.org or by calling 376-2281 ext. 1 or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12-2 pm. $5 subsidized tickets available at the Box Office. For more information about Orcas Center’s 2016-2017 season visit www.orcascenter.org.
